[NSP] Book on J. Collingwood Bruce (early NSP supporter) free on GoogleBooks
I was poking around for some information on some of the individuals involved in the sustainment of the NSP tradition heading into the 20th century, and it turns out that the book The life and letters of John Collingwood Bruce of Newcastle-upon-Tyne is available on GoogleBooks for free (having been published in 1905 and thus in the public domain), both to read on screen or download to various devices. Though not concerned primarily with the NSP, since JCB did a lot of other things in his career, a decent number of interesting snippets come up if you search the therms pipe, pipes or small-pipes (smallpipes as a term does not appear). Just though this may be of interest to other folks interested in history. I can't confirm that it's free in all countries, depending on Google's licensing agreements and various jurisdictions, but it's worth looking into. Hope someone else might enjoy this as well. -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[NSP] Re: new group
I'm sensing a Judean Peoples' Front vs. Peoples' Front of Judea schism here... Date: Mon, 23 May 2011 16:28:34 -0400 To: nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu From: mark.stay...@pipersgathering.org Subject: [NSP] Re: new group Is this different than the Proper Northumbrian Pipers group? On Mon, May 23, 2011 at 1:45 PM, Inky- Adrian [1]inkyadr...@googlemail.com wrote: A new Facebook group The Proper Northumberland Small-pipe Players has been founded. -- References 1. mailto:inkyadr...@googlemail.com To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html --
[NSP] Re: new group
Your death will stand as a landmark in the continuing struggle to liberate the Northumbrian Smallpipes from other Northumbrian smallpipers, excluding those concerned with cultural preservation, reed design, bellows repair, archival research and any other pipers contributing to Northubrian smallpiping of closed, open, semi-closed, all-thumbs, and fingerless fingering. Signed, on behalf of the P. N. P., etc. And I'd just like to add, on a personal note, my own admiration, for what you're doing for us, on what must be, after all, for you a very difficult time Date: Tue, 24 May 2011 20:32:50 +0100 To: matthew_p...@hotmail.com CC: nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu From: oatenp...@googlemail.com Subject: [NSP] Re: new group On 24 May 2011, at 20:24, Matthew Boris wrote: I'm sensing a Judean Peoples' Front vs. Peoples' Front of Judea schism here... Excellent! What has the NPS ever done for us ? Francis To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html --
[NSP] Re: Historical image of John Dunn, John Peacock?
The awesome image of the engraving, and much of the text, were added by [1]John Gibbons 3 as noted in the History tab at the top of the page. That is one of the cool things about Wiki as well; every draft can be seen and compared. So if anyone wants to shoot him a line on Wiki and say hey, add the publisher, check the edition#, and did you really mean 'chromatic'? By all means rock on. As mentioned in the start: is there any portrait/image of Dunn himself somewhere that we can add? I do plan (on my over-packed to-do list) to do several more NSP articles, including one on the institution of the Duke of Northumberland's Piper. Just have to dig up some footnotes, and then contact the current piper to a) see if he has any good reference works I can footnote, b) if he's willing to release to public domain (or share out-of-copyright images) of ducal pipers of the past, and ideally one of himself in full regalia. Extra points if I can get a good pic of him marching in the ceremonial procession for the soccer game he plays for annually by command. If anyone here is interested in writing a Wiki article for any figure of NSP history, but is not familiar with Wiki, give me a shout and I can walk you through it. It's actually quite easy, and there's even an automated Article Wizard program that makes it about as easy as typing an email. All you really need is a few reliable references to footnote, and for some of the pipers there are enough books on GoogleBooks that can be cited that you don't even need to track down a physical book. -Matthew Arlington, Virginia Date: Wed, 4 May 2011 11:09:52 +0100 To: nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu From: phi...@gruar.clara.net Subject: [NSP] Re: Historical image of John Dunn, John Peacock? - Original Message - From: Matt Seattle Also, I wonder whether the keywork added by Dunn was 'chromatic' at this stage, but others will know more about this than I do. No it was not chromatic, being just the four keys for low D, E, Fsharp and high A, which just extended the range of the diatonic scale of G. Notes are only chromatic when they do not form part of the major or minor scale in which the music is played. Strictly speaking, I suppose one could say that when playing a C natural in a tune which is otherwise in the key of D major, a C natural would be a chromatic alteration - but that's rather stretching the point. If, as on the Dunn chanter, there is no C#, so that ALL the C's have to be natural even in a tune whose tonic is D, then it's just a modal tune with a flattened 7th, I think. However, an occasional C natural in a D major tune with mostly C sharps, would be chromatic, while the C sharp key (when it was added later) would not be chromatic as long as the tune is in D - but in a G major tune it would be! Chromatic also means a scale moving by semitones, and you couldn't play any part of a chromatic scale on a 4-key Dunn chanter, like the B, C, C#, D, D#, E scale which is possible on a 7-key chanter. Still - in common parlance, chromatic generally just means the black notes on the piano, so perhaps Wiki may be just using conventional terminology to mean Dunn started the process of adding extra keys, which is fair enough and clearly conveys what most readers will quickly understand. Still, all praise to Matthew for putting up the article and bringing another small bit of the highly specialist Northumbrian pipe world into the wider public domain - and isn't that engraving wonderful? Must be Bewick's workshop, surely. To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- References 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:John_Gibbons_3action=editredlink=1
[NSP] Article on US/Canadian NSP scene for AltPipes blog?
Greetings, I've been helping drum up support for the blog Alternative Pipers of North America. If you haven't checked it out, you should; it's a great collection of articles on pipes (generally non-GHB/UP) from the North American perspective. Loosely a North American complement to the LBPS, but with an even wider net of less-common pipes. I've been drumming up some articles from the sackpipa (Swedish bagpipe), zampogna (Italian), and Balkan piping scenes in the US, and I think it'd be a great addition to have an article on NSP piping in the New World. If anyone is interested in writing an article (with pics?) about their experiences as an NSP piper in North America, that'd be great to read, and a good way to inform a wider piping audience about the NSP. Just as a few suggested topics: what community exists of NSP players; is there any area where there's a sizable community? What experiences have you had trying to explain to Americans/Canadians exactly what kind of pipes you play, and deal with their pre-conceptions of piping from the popularity of the GHB and UP? Maybe an article on the experience of being a solitary learner in America and having to teach yourself from tutorial materials in the physical absence of fellow NSP pipers. Just fielding the idea, hope some folks might take interest, and definitely hope many of you will check out the blog: [1]http://theotherpipers.org/index/ Happy piping, -Matthew Arlington, Virgina, USA -- References 1. http://theotherpipers.org/index/ To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[NSP] Has there ever been an NSP with _all_ keys (no open holes)?
I was pondering recently, both on the stacatto effect of the keys, the difficulties in only having two fingers free to hit keys, and also thinking about whether a person missing a hand could play bagpipes in general. A thought occurred to me: have any NSP been made which had every hole covered by a key? With such a settup, all fingers would be available to hit keys. I think that's how a lot of modern woodwinds are made; is there any reason besides tradition that this is not regularly done on NSP? -Matthew Arlington, Virginia, USA -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[NSP] NSP help needed near Cleveland, Ohio, USA (quoting from Dunsire Forums)
The following was posted today on Dunsire Bagpipe Forums, directing here for a better audience. I'm not involved at all, just spreading the word: Link here: http://forums.bobdunsire.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136744 Recently a friend of mine re acquired her deciest husband's NSP and would like to learn to play them. They were made by David Burleigh w/ 9 keys, 4 drones and cane reeds. Since I live 150 miles away and play Cushing SSP w/ plastic reeds, I may not be much help. She lives in Medina, Oh., south of Cleveland, west of Akron, and just off I71. Any help and/or advice will be appreciated, C. Jim -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[NSP] Started Wikipedia article F+ (pitch)
Given that the vagaries of NSP tuning take some explaining, and are briefly mentioned in the NSP article on Wikipedia, I turned the term F+ into a wikilink and started a new article for it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%2B_%28pitch%29 If anyone has any _footnoted_ material they'd like to add, from a reputable published source or musical journal, it'd be good to flesh it out a little bit. I just ask that we try to footnote data vice putting in personal knowledge; the goal is to compile existing published info vice our own research (though in fairness plenty of folks on this list know as much as anyone can on the subject). To add a footnote on wiki you just type your citation between the terms ref and /ref and it will automatically number itself and list itself at the bottom of the page. Any particular heartburn with the title? F+ seems to be as close to a standard way to say a little sharp of modern Concert F as NSP tend to be as there is. And though I realise 20c isn't a rock-solid standard, it does seem to be a common working number. Thanks for any edits or suggestions. -Matthew -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[NSP] Tweaking pennywhisle to NSP F+ pitch?
At the Potomac piper's gathering a few weeks back, I noticed that few folks had instrument set up to jam with the NSP players in their F+ sets, except for one pennywhistle player. Is there any standard way to play in F+ on a tinwhistle? Is it best to get an F whistle (low or high), take off the head, trim a bit of the top of the body so you can slide the head tighter? Or do the same on a C whistle to sharpen your F scale (the three fingers down pitch)? Or do folks do the opposite and get a 'whistle that can play a G scale and pull the head out to bring the G down to F+? Any advice on how to go about this, and which marques of 'whistle are easiest to modify? Strings instruments are easy to play in F+ with, clearly, though for my concertina it'd take a pretty specific re-tune to play F+! -Matthew -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[NSP] re-conditioning ... (dangers of brass tarnish?)
Have been following this thread with interest, but had to ask: is brass tarnish removal primarily for aesthetics, or does it also effect operation or long-term stability? Off the top of my head, I would think that a layer of oxidisation would protect the metal in the long run; recall that the bluing used on gunsteel is actually an extremely slow and stable form of corrosion that prevents more damaging rust. Do tarnished keys simply not behave properly, or is it mostly a visual issue? Are there any players who deliberately leave their keys tarnished for whatever reason, though they continue to otherwise maintain their pipes? -Matthew Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2011 17:30:51 + To: nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu From: cwh...@santa-fe.freeserve.co.uk Subject: [NSP] Re: [nsp] re-conditioning ... A lot of sense has been said here. One thing to bear in mind however is how you use your own pipes. Olive oil etc can be fine IF you clean the pipes on a very regular basis (cleaning off all the old stuff etc) so it never gets the chance to harden up and glue the joints, pads, keys etc together (lost a few pads like that in the very early days). The longer between cleaning and playing, the more inert an oil you need. I have tried almond oil (and good it was too) and used it for over 20 years on pipes that come out now and again and also neat's-foot oil (I used to do leather working as a hobby) - also very good. As I played less and less, I tried Colin Ross's suggestion of medical liquid paraffin - and we need to be aware that, as said, it's not called that in countries other than the UK. I have found that to be an excellent oil and the pipes are still fine after several months in the case so I have switched to that now. It also had the benefit of oiling the clack valves and I haven't (yet) had a case when the valve made a noise (that pop sound) since using it. Another bonus as I occasionally got that with the almond oil. My pipes are lignum with NS mounts, by the way. If in doubt about what it is, it's sold in pharmacies as a laxative and NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with heating or lighting. Pure oil of lavender oil worked well too but you do get some odd looks when you open the case and the smell of lavender permeates the venue. Cleaning the silver/brass can also be done with anything acidic (hence the lemon) including tomato sauce or, for those with green in mind, a stalk of rhubarb. Take care with the iso-alcohol as it's poisonous and highly inflammable but is easily obtained in various preparations such as tape head cleaner, medical swabs for preparing injection sites and numerous things for cleaning computers and electrical parts. You know it's there as there is always a large warning on the container. Vinegar works as well but makes you think of fish 'n' chips :-) We all have our favourites, I suppose. Colin Hill - Original Message - From: Gibbons, John j.gibb...@imperial.ac.uk To: 'Francis Wood' oatenp...@googlemail.com; julia@nspipes.co.uk Cc: Northumbrian Small Pipes nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 3:43 PM Subject: [NSP] Re: [nsp] re-conditioning ... Quantz swore by almond oil, and if Fritz's flute had suffered by it it would perhaps show in the historical record One problem is the speed of sound in nitrogen is not the same as in air. A way of coaxing the extra few cents out of a flat chanter would be to hook a nitrogen cylinder up to the bellows. Or helium if that isn't enough. John -Original Message- From: lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu [mailto:lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu] On Behalf Of Francis Wood Sent: 14 January 2011 15:16 To: julia@nspipes.co.uk Cc: Northumbrian Small Pipes Subject: [NSP] Re: [nsp] re-conditioning ... On 14 Jan 2011, at 11:31, Julia Say replied: ( a while ago i remember there was some discussion of oils. . .) And then another one, and then another one. Its one of the recurrent topics. It's one of those things that has no definitive answer. Almost every option has a possible disadvantage as Dorothy Parker pointed out.: 'Resume' Razors pain you; Rivers are damp; Acids stain you; And drugs cause cramp. Guns aren't lawful; Nooses give; Gas smells awful; You might as well live. I haven't found the beginning of this thread so I don't know what actual use is being proposed for the oil. Is it for use in the bore? There are historical sources mentioning the use of bore oil (almond, I think) but these are for flutes and recorders as I
[NSP] Wrote the Colin Ross bio on Wikipedia; anyone have citeable references?
I noticed that Colin Ross had no article on Wikipedia, despite a good dozen or more articles mentioning him but with nowhere to link to. So I did some basic Google research and put together a biography here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Ross_%28pipemaker%29 If anyone has info to add, I'd be interested to hear it. CAVEAT: Wikipedia has become (rightfully) pretty picky in what can be included in biographies, particularly of living people, so I'm not looking for so much hey, I know that Colin once... so much as on page 73 of 'The Fiddlers and the Rants' published in 1988 by MacMillan, it says that Colin... What I'm hoping to find is verifiable info from published sources (books, newspapers, journals like Common Stock, etc) info to add to the article. If anyone has such info, you can add it directly, or I'd be happy to help you out or do it for you. If anyone is in email contact with Mr Ross, I'd like to contact him about getting a good publicity photo released to the Public Domain. Again, Wikipedia can't just use random google images; pics must either be clearly marked in the public domain, or specifically released to such by the owner. If anyone can help build the article with _footnoted_ sources, or can help me acquire Public Domain rights to an photo of Mr Ross, it'd go a long way towards helping publicise his work to a broader audience. -Matthew -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[NSP] Burleigh 9-key NSP on eBay
I'm not a player myself, but ran across these looking for used SSP: http://cgi.ebay.com/David-Burleigh-Northumbrian-Smallpipes-9-Key-w-Case -/130472916314?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0hash=item1e60cab55a Starting bid is $899, currently 0 bids and almost 7 days left. I don't _think_ I'm in the market at this point, but is this a decent deal? Or is the fact that we don't know how long it's been unplayed make it a no-go, or at least an assumption of some major re-fettling and replacing pads, tweaking keys, etc? -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[NSP] Re: Introduction from Arlington, Virginia
Definitely looking forward to meeting a wider variety of pipers; I'm relatively new to pipes (though have been interested in for 14 years), and about the only non-GHB/uilleann piper I've known in person was a Balkan piper up in Seattle, and some gaiteros I met in Spain. I'll be at Shepherdstown, and hard to miss since I don't think there'll be many short boyish guys with shaggy hair and a nose piercing, and I think there might be only one other sackpipa piper. I also might go to a piping conference/course on Swedish sackpipa in Minnesota in March, so pushing right along on this. After I meet a few more folks at Shepherdstown, I do have a few possibly good ideas on some ways to bring more attention to the NSP online; I've got a pretty good background in forum and blog issues, and promotions. But I can run the ideas by folks at the Potomac event first. Looking forward to seeing folks, and exposing more people to the Swedish pipes as well; kind of the polar opposite of the NSP, having no keys (or one key on mine), one drone, single-reeded chanter, etc. Though it does share some of your chromaticity (if not range). Modern sackpipa fit 11 notes into the octave, so not bad for a primitive pipe. See some of you then, -Matthew -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[NSP] Introduction from Arlington, Virginia
Greetings, Just joined the list and thought I'd introduce myself. I live in Northern Virginia currently, previously lived at various points in the US, Newfoundland, and the Middle East. I'm not an NSP player myself, but it's a subject of interest to me and joining the List seemed the best way to learn more. I currently play sackpipa (Swedish bagpipe), and have both an E/A mouthblown cast-resin set by Hamon, and am about to take receipt of a D/G bellows-blown set by Boris Favre of BC. I also just picked up a Cushing bellows-blown SSP for variety, though I play it with open-fingering. I've always liked NSP, ever since I was a teenager skipping class at the University of Washington to go listen to old vinyl in the archives and stumbled across an old Billy Pigg album. To this day I still use Wild Hills o' Wannies as a stock tune on sackpipa, Appalachian dulcimer, classical guitar, and pennywhistle. I'm not totally sure whether I'll take up NSP at some point. They do seem rather fragile, and the kind of pipe you have to play or mess with every single week to keep them hale (which is hard with the sheer number of instruments I muck about with). On the other hand, their sound is incredibly distinctive, and the complicated drones and multi-keyed chanters do offer a ton of flexibility. I will be up at the Upper Potomac Piper's Weekend in West Virginia in a couple weeks, so hope to maybe be able to try out an NSP there, as well as get as many folks as possible to try my bellows-blown sackpipa. Hope to meet some of you there, and look forward to learning more from the List, -Matthew -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
